The Best Tips for Downsizing Into a Smaller Home

In today’s real estate market, plenty of buyers find themselves moving into a smaller space. Whether you’re a mature couple selling the family home and investing in a more manageable space or a single buyer moving into an urban core to be closer to work, you might just find yourself wondering how you’re going to fit all your belongings into your new space, and how to get rid of the things you don’t need. To start, try these tips:

Start with clothing. If you’re moving into a smaller space, it’s almost certain to have less closet space. This means that culling your clothing can be a natural place to start downsizing. Not to mention, almost everyone has clothing that either doesn’t fit or isn’t a style they wear any longer. Start by sorting through your out-of-season clothing, as you won’t need that on a day-to-day basis.

Go digital. Feel like you have endless books, CDs or DVDs to pack? Take the opportunity to transfer music or movies into a digital format and think about selling or donating some of your old books. Going forward, e-readers are a great way to save space if you read a lot. You can purchase and download digital books or use an app like OneDrive to access library books from all over the world.

Eliminate old products. Take stock of products in your bathroom or kitchen you haven’t used in over a year. Most cosmetics or body products expire after this time anyway, so if you haven’t used that organic face scrub in who knows how long, toss it. The same goes for products in your pantry. Bought that juicer on Boxing Day two years ago and haven’t even opened it? Time to go!

Swap furniture for multifunction. If you’re feeling like you need to get rid of some of your larger pieces, think about replacing them with furniture that does double duty. This could be a storage bed, a console table that stores out-of-season clothing in the hallway or a filing cabinet that serves as a side table.